Health
Depression could be 'zapped' away with brain stimulation, new study suggests: ‘Better quality of life’
For those with severe depression, relief could soon be just an MRI away.
In a major clinical trial, researchers from the University of Nottingham in the U.K. applied transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to the brains of 255 patients with treatment-resistant depression over a total of 20 sessions.
The patients reported “substantial improvements” in their symptoms and quality of life for at least six months after the procedure, according to a press release from the university.
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More than two-thirds of participants responded to the treatment, with a third showing 50% improvement in symptoms.
For one-fifth of the patients, their depression did not return.
Researchers from the University of Nottingham applied transcranial magnetic stimulation to the brains of 255 patients with treatment-resistant depression over a total of 20 sessions. (iStock)
“Given that these patients are people who have not responded to two previous treatment attempts and have been ill for an average of seven years, to get such a significant response rate and a fifth who have a sustained response is really encouraging,” lead researcher Richard Morriss, professor of psychiatry at the University of Nottingham, told Fox News Digital, said in the release.
The findings were published in the journal Nature Medicine on Jan. 16.
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“Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a well-established treatment for depression that is available in many but not all centers, unlike antidepressants, ECT and psychological treatments, which are available anywhere,” Morriss told Fox News Digital.
Previously, TMS has been delivered in a less effective and precise way, Morriss said, and the results didn’t last as long.
The patients reported “substantial improvements” in their symptoms and quality of life for at least six months after the procedure, said researchers. (iStock)
“The importance of this research is that for the first time, in a large enough randomized controlled trial, the benefits on depression lasted six months or more,” he said.
“Not only that, but on average, one in two people [who received] the TMS had a substantial benefit in depression lasting at least six months — enough to improve their anxiety and make them think clearly, function better and have a better quality of life.”
“The benefits to people who have suffered for years are quite remarkable.”
The researchers used an MRI scan to personalize the site of the magnetic stimulation for each patient, Morriss noted.
“We used a neuronavigation system, or tracking system, to ensure that the same site was hit for all 20 TMS sessions, [even] if the person sat in a slightly different position or moved slightly,” he said.
Ninety-two percent of the study participants completed the full treatment, said Morriss, with only “minor side effects” that lasted less than a day.
In 2023, 29% of Americans reported having been diagnosed with depression at some point in their lives, while 17.8% said they currently suffer from it. (iStock)
“People went to the hospital and could resume their usual activities, and they could drive there and back for this treatment,” he said.
Although the MRI-guided treatment costs about 25% more than the traditional TMS treatments, Morriss said the benefits last longer — “so maybe the person only needs one or at the most two courses of treatment per year.”
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The study did have some limitations, Morriss acknowledged.
The researchers were not able to include a placebo group, as it was deemed “ethically and clinically unacceptable” to give a placebo treatment for as long as six months to such a seriously ill group of people, he said.
Although the MRI-guided treatment costs about 25% more than the traditional TMS treatments, the benefits last longer, researchers said. (iStock)
“So we do not know for sure how much of the TMS effect is real and how much is due to other factors,” he noted. “It seems likely that a high proportion of the effect is due to TMS.”
Not every center offering TMS can access MRI technology, Morriss said, but many sites across the U.S. and Canada do have the equipment.
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“The additional cost and lack of availability of MRI or the expertise to use it is something that doctors and insurers will need to consider,” he added.
Alex Dimitriu, M.D., a psychiatrist and founder of Menlo Park Psychiatry & Sleep Medicine in California, was not involved in the Nottingham study but reviewed the findings.
“There is no doubt that magnetic brain stimulation can be an effective treatment for depression, and this study, using targeted magnetic pulses, further reinforces the efficacy of this treatment,” a psychologist said. (iStock)
“There is no doubt that magnetic brain stimulation can be an effective treatment for depression, and this study, using targeted magnetic pulses, further reinforces the efficacy of this treatment,” he said.
A similar type of focused magnetic therapy was developed at Stanford, which found similar strong positive outcomes, Dimitriu said.
“Notably, these therapies can be expensive and somewhat time-consuming — however, the benefits to people who have suffered for years are quite remarkable,” he said.
For anyone dealing with a treatment-resistant psychiatric condition, Dimitriu emphasized the importance of correcting and optimizing sleep before gauging the effectiveness of any treatment.
In 2023, 29% of Americans reported having been diagnosed with depression at some point in their lives, while 17.8% said they currently suffer from it.
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A new report by the American Heart Association (AHA) included some troubling predictions for the future of women’s health.
The forecast, published in the journal Circulation on Wednesday, projected increases in various comorbidities in American females by 2050.
More than 59% of women were predicted to have high blood pressure, up from less than 49% currently.
The review also projected that more than 25% of women will have diabetes, compared to about 15% today, and more than 61% will have obesity, compared to 44% currently.
As a result of these risk factors, the prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke is expected to rise to 14.4% from 10.7%.
The prevalence of cardiovascular disease and stroke in women is expected to rise to 14.4% from 10.7% by 2050. (iStock)
Not all trends were negative, as unhealthy cholesterol prevalence is expected to drop to about 22% from more than 42% today, the report stated.
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Dr. Elizabeth Klodas, a cardiologist and founder of Step One Foods in Minnesota, commented on these “jarring findings.”
“The fact that on our current trajectory, cardiometabolic disease is projected to explode in women within one generation should be a huge wake-up call,” she told Fox News Digital.
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“Hypertension, diabetes, obesity — these are all major risk factors for heart disease, and we are already seeing what those risks are driving. Heart disease is the No. 1 killer of women, eclipsing all other causes of death, including breast cancer.”
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for women in the U.S. and around the world. (iStock)
Klodas warned that heart disease starts early, progresses “stealthily,” and can present “out of the blue in devastating ways.”
The AHA published another study on Thursday revealing one million hospitalizations, showing that heart attack deaths are climbing among adults below the age of 55.
The more alarming finding, according to Klodas, is that young women were found more likely to die after their first heart attack than men of the same age.
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“This is all especially tragic since heart disease is almost entirely preventable,” she said. “The earlier you start, the better.”
Children can show early evidence of plaque deposition in their arteries, which can be reversed through lifestyle changes if “undertaken early enough and aggressively enough,” according to the expert.
Moving more is one part of protecting a healthy heart, according to experts. (iStock)
Klodas suggested that rising heart conditions are associated with traditional risk factors, like smoking, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity and a sedentary lifestyle.
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Doctors are also seeing higher rates of preeclampsia, or high blood pressure during pregnancy, as well as gestational diabetes. Klodas noted that these are sex-specific risk factors that don’t typically contribute to complications until after menopause.
The best way to protect a healthy heart is to “do the basics,” Klodas recommended, including the following lifestyle habits.
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Klodas especially emphasized making improvements to diet, as the food people eat affects “every single risk factor that the AHA’s report highlights.”
“High blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, excess weight – these are all conditions that are driven in part or in whole by food,” she said. “We eat multiple times every single day, which means what we eat has profound cumulative effects over time.”
“Even a small improvement in dietary intake, when maintained, can have a massive positive impact on health,” a doctor said. (iStock)
“Even a small improvement in dietary intake, when maintained, can have a massive positive impact on health.”
The doctor also recommends changing out a few snacks per day for healthier choices, which has been proven to “yield medication-level cholesterol reductions” in a month.
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“Keep up that small change and, over the course of a year, you could also lose 20 pounds and reduce your sodium intake enough to avoid blood pressure-lowering medications,” Klodas added.
“Women should not view the AHA report as inevitable. We have power over our health destinies. We just need to use it.”
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Nearsightedness (myopia) is skyrocketing globally, with nearly half of the world’s population expected to be myopic by 2050, according to the World Health Organization.
Heavy use of smartphones and other devices is associated with an 80% higher risk of myopia when combined with excessive computer use, but a new study suggests that dim indoor lighting could also be a factor.
For years, scientists have been puzzled by the different ways myopia is triggered. In lab settings, it can be induced by blurring vision or using different lenses. Conversely, it can be slowed by something as simple as spending time outdoors, research suggests.
Nearsightedness occurs when the eyeball grows too long from front to back, according to the American Optometric Association (AOA). This physical elongation causes light to focus in front of the retina rather than directly on it, making distant objects appear blurry.
The study suggests that myopia isn’t caused by the digital devices themselves, but by the low-light environments where they are typically used. (iStock)
Researchers at the State University of New York (SUNY) College of Optometry identified a potential specific trigger for this growth. When someone looks at a phone or a book up close, the pupil naturally constricts.
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“In bright outdoor light, the pupil constricts to protect the eye while still allowing ample light to reach the retina,” Urusha Maharjan, a SUNY Optometry doctoral student who conducted the study, said in a press release.
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“When people focus on close objects indoors, such as phones, tablets or books, the pupil can also constrict — not because of brightness, but to sharpen the image,” she went on. “In dim lighting, this combination may significantly reduce retinal illumination.”
High-intensity natural light prevents myopia because it provides enough retinal stimulation to override the “stop growing” signal, even when pupils are constricted. (iStock)
The hypothesis suggests that when the retina is deprived of light during extended close-up work, it sends a signal for the eye to grow.
In a dim environment, the narrowed pupil allows so little light through that the retinal activity isn’t strong enough to signal the eye to stop growing, the researchers found.
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In contrast, being outdoors provides light levels much brighter than indoors. This ensures that even when the pupil narrows to focus on a nearby object, the retina still receives a strong signal, maintaining healthy eye development.
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The team noted some limitations of the study, including the small subject group and the inability to directly measure internal lens changes, as the bright backgrounds used to mimic the outdoors made pupils too small for standard equipment.
Researchers believe that increasing indoor brightness during close-up work could be a simple, testable way to slow the global nearsightedness epidemic. (iStock)
“This is not a final answer,” Jose-Manuel Alonso, MD, PhD, SUNY distinguished professor and senior author of the study, said in the release.
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“But the study offers a testable hypothesis that reframes how visual habits, lighting and eye focusing interact.”
The study was published in the journal Cell Reports.
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